B.A.P.S.
RATING: ** (out of ****)
New Line / 1:30 / 1997 / PG-13 (language, crude humor, big hair) Cast: Halle Berry; Martin Landau; Natalie Desselle; Ian Richardson; Jonathan Fried; Luigi Amodeo; Troy Beyer Director: Robert Townsend Screenplay: Troy Beyer
A fish-out-of-water movie where the fish have bigger fingernails than Barbra Streisand herself, "B.A.P.S." offers up some pretty funny moments before self-destructing in its second half. What starts out as a sly, nasty comedy takes its story a little too seriously, and serves up a earnest ending oozing with false sentiment. It's a good thing "B.A.P.S." has a solid comedic team in stars Halle Berry ("Executive Decision," "The Rich Man's Wife") and Natalie Desselle ("Set It Off"), or the final stretch of this movie would be near intolerable.
Berry and Desselle are respectively cast as homegirls Nisi and Mickey, two greasy spoon waitresses from Decatur, Georgia, who have big ideas and bigger hair -- not to mention the gold teeth and unsightly wardrobe. After learning that MTV is looking for the "Video Dance Girl of the Year," and that the winner will be awarded $10,000, the dynamically-dressed and -tressed duo drop everything and catch a flight to Los Angeles. After their dreams are shattered when they lose the contest, a chauffeur takes them to a swank Beverly Hills mansion, where a plan is hatched. The estate's owner, Mr. Blakemore (Martin Landau, here perhaps to pick up a paycheck?), is terminally ill, and his nephew (Jonathan Fried) offers Nisi the same amount of cash to stick around for a week and impersonate the granddaughter of his long lost love, hoping to lift the old man's spirits during his final days.
No bonus points for guessing Nisi and Mickey are going to reform Blakemore and his home with their sassy, snappy ways -- that development is telegraphed from the movie's get-go. Still, the predictability wouldn't have mattered as long as "B.A.P.S." understands it's a spoof first and foremost. Unfortunately, the plot, as scant as it is, turns into something solemn, throwing silliness out the window for dumb twists and a finale that actually asks us to emote. "B.A.P.S.," which stands for black American princesses, is much more successful when it stays far away from fairy tale territory.
There are quite a few good moments to be salvaged from the eventual mess, though. Nisi and Mickey's arrival into high society is amusing, as are their misadventures with his crusty, no-nonsense English butler (is there any other kind?) Manly, a character foil played marvelously by Ian Richardson. Even when the going gets tough, the on-target acting by Berry and Desselle is pleasant enough to keep you from dozing off. "B.A.P.S." ain't quite C.R.A.P. (oh, come on -- I couldn't resist), but thanks to confused storytelling, it comes a little too close to banality.
© 1997 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/
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